Jonesing On All the Wrong Things

You talk about Jonesing...this is all I hear.

I met a Joneser. After talking with him (nicest guy), the wife asked me if I was going to write a blog post about it. I said no...but then thought about it while showering. So, here is the break down. My buddy is good at remembering prices, and the wife was feeling it was coming off as Jonesing.

He was complaining that their kiddo had broken another TV, costing them either $400-$500 (I don't remember which he said). He also bought a TV mount to go with it from Walmart for $75. And his fishing gear was worth $600. I was impressed he had awareness of how much the stuff he was buying cost.

Here is what I came away with. Jonesing isn't allocating money well. Wow, I know. You say "how deep Bravely Content! I would have never found that out alone!". Let me explain. As we know, Jonesing is buying stuff you don't need to impress people you don't like. This kind fellow also shared that his wife and him spent about $600 on their one kiddo for Christmas. My wife and I spend under $200 for all Christmas gifts this year (yes. Still is a lot). But, this did not bother me on a personal level which comes to the second observation.

The second thing I came away with is that I automatically sort purchases I hear to how urgently needed they are, and the price. I don't personally feel like a second class citizen when someone is allocating their money unnecessarily or poorly. In fact, I feel shame when I hear someone bad assing their budget or purchases. That is something I envy.

Must...shred...all...money!

No giant rant today, Just an observation that I've become so disconnected with the Jones's, that Jonesing just seems wasteful to me but doesn't trigger jealousy. When Yukon's and Suburban's floor it next to me while I am biking, all I hear is money being shredded and a guy panting "must...shred...all...money."

This is what the Chevy looks like

One other funny observation. There is a giant brand new Chevy Suburban that regularly is driven to an event the wife and I go to. I didn't feel less of a man parking next to it in my '97 Honda. I felt bad for the guy's finances, and happy for the salesman who got a fat payoff. On a personal level though, I still do feel angry when I see that Chevy running, without anyone inside or in sight. As if shredding money when driving isn't enough, this guy goes the extra mile and shreds money when he isn't even around! It's like reverse compounding interest.

Mr. Money Mustache. A Gold Mine

For the few people who do not access this blog from Mr. Money Mustache (MMM), this website is a goldmine. It is written by a man who retired at age 32 by saving 75% of his income for 10 years, if memory serves me. He documents the way he lives a simple life using a bicycle instead of a car when possible, enjoying Vanguard's funds, saving money, and abandoning the rat race. Here is a good starting point for the blog.

This is a source of sanity for me. For years I have felt like the insane minority questioning the decisions of others. Why does such and such Jones buy something expensive to top such and such Jones. Why am I surrounded by people wielding fancy phones eager to trade them in as soon as possible. The same goes with fancy trucks and SUVs for commuters. I see armies of Starbucks cups, people depressed about their jobs but still spending every dollar of every paycheck and wondering why retirement is so far away.

People wonder why I often don't eat out at restaurants,why our only car is over 15 years old, why I ride a bicycle to work, why I  have Netflix instead of cable, why I am ditching my fancy phone and plan for a cheaper one, why I discuss purchases with the wife, why we keep a budget, why my kid won't have fancy Apple products to play with before puberty, why we mostly have free furniture, and so much more.

Why a Safety Razor is Better than Gillette or Shave Clubs

My Old Gillette Razor

Today while hanging out in the shower, I reflected on razors. Recently, Gillette created their own shave club with comparable prices to Dollar Shave Club. Another option I had considered was Harry's Razors. However, thanks to the kindness of a coworker, I use a safety razor. He was kind enough to give me over a hundred blades.

At age 16 my dad bought me a power shaver. Quite a nice thing for him to have done. Young high school me was unable to afford replacements (I was saving up for a 4 year school, before I knew that was a bad idea).

When I first started shaving at the 4 year school, I used Gillette because they mailed me a small kit on my 18th birthday. Truly nice of them and a good marketing idea. The kit lasted awhile, but sure enough I needed new blades. I went to Wal-Mart, cheapest of the cheap, young college me needed cheap. The blades there were over $3 a head if memory serves me. I think it was a 4 pack for $12. Now, I changed blades about once a month, sometimes less but it still could be $36/yr. I also got the added bonus of models being discontinued, meaning I had to pay $10+ for a new handle to support the advertising.

A Cheapish Razor

I did this for awhile and then experimented with cheap single or double blade razors. Sure, you could find them for 10 cents or more, but I noticed the quality just did not seem to be there. I couldn't get a full month out of them, it was more like a week or two. When those blades stopped cutting right, my face suffered.

One day at work, one of the coolest guys determined I wanted to try using a safety razor but wasn't sure which one to get. This fellow gave me his kit that he wasn't using which came with 100+- blades. I was immensely grateful and still am. The shave feels great. The construction of the blade holder makes it very difficult to cut myself. My razor has type on it, so I just keep track which side is dull and use the other side until it is time for a replacement. When the blade is dull, it stops cutting, rather than cutting my face. With my old 4 blade Gillette razor, the bottom blades would become dull while the top were sharp, so my cut wasn't consistent. Meaning, if I went over an uneven portion of my face, the top blades would cut me since the amount of pressure needed changed. Also, each blade costs about $0.10 and is double sided. You aren't dependent on a singe manufacturer for blades either, so I never need to replace it due to planned obsolescent. 

Here is the breakdown per year:

• Gillette: $38.50 ($36 for heads and $2.50 for new handle every 4 years)
• Cheap-o: $2.60-$5.20 but a bad shaving experience
• Safety Razor: $1.20

Yes, you read that. I spend $1.20 annually on razor blades. 'Course I have about 8 more years worth of blades before I actually spend that much money a year. My handle may need replacing at that point. Something to note, if you replace a blade and are getting a bad cut, you may have it upside down. 

Bicycling Has Changed Me

A nice bicycle image.

Earlier I mentioned that I went from commuting 35 miles (70 round trip) a day, to bicycling 2.5 miles (5 round trip) a day. The change has been amazing. I am less tense, more fit and less cranky. Exercising every weekday has been very good to me. Just as a heads up, I'm not some macho guy who can immediately do anything. I had to work my way up to commuting by bike 5 days a week and bum rides when I'm sick enough to work. It took about a month or so to work up biking 5 days a week.

Not me! I wear no spandex!

About my everyday commute:

• I breathe fresh air for 30-40 minutes a day. My bike is a cruiser so my average speed is probably 10-15mph, unlike the speed demons on road bikes.
• I ride on suburban quietish streets with plenty of stop signs
• I'm about to graduate to riding in real rain. I've rode in mist and drizzle
• Garbage cans are positioned by Satan. Seriously. Some people make it so I have to cut into the road cause they had to put the can between the road line and where the sidewalk should be. Don't be that guy.
• I'm learning how to bike more safely. Right now I slow down at stop signs and make sure no one is around before proceeding (really, this is more of a yield). I have been bad lately and need to more consistently downshift so if someone is there but unexpectedly crossing my path, I can stop in time.
• Where I work, they let me take my bike inside. Otherwise I would rely on my U lock.
• People either admire me or think I'm bonkers but pretend to admire me. 

  

  Bicyclists need to be careful too!

Valentines Day For $19.49

The wife and I managed to score babysitting from family for Valentine's day. So, instead of having food at the house with a kiddo helping us keep the romance down, or at a noisy restaurant with a kiddo helping us keep the romance down, we went to Olive Garden and then Cold Stones. We don't typically go to restaurants, let alone 2, on a holiday. However, with this babysitting happening the wife and I felt we were really due for a night out.

Olive Garden is one of our favorite restaurants for a couple of reasons. It is usually quiet. There is no TV blaring telling you stuff you need to buy, or a game you need to watch. The wife and I love this. By the way, I'm getting no funding from Olive Garden for this blog post.

So here is the breakdown:

• We weren't starving when we got to Olive Garden, this helped us not order giant plates becoming leftovers. 
• Olive Garden serves bread forever. It's like Red Robin's bottomless fries. So, we snacked on the bread while we waited for our other food.
• We sampled a glass of wine for free.
• We split their lasagna special for $12.99. This included unlimited soup or salad for 1 person (we only had 1 refill. I ate one bowl, the wife ate the other. If you get excessive with this splitting this they charge you).
• The lasagna order included chicken marsala ravioli and fettuccini alfredo.

This totaled to $14.03 after tax. The wife and I liked our service so we tipped 20%+. We will do this sometimes if we split and the server is nice to us. In this case, they served two different plates with half of each of the three entrees, so there was no awkward sharing. 

This brought the total to $17.00. 

I had promised the wife Cold Stones Creamery ice cream, so we went there next. The wife ordered a little known kid size ice cream with Oreos. It is small, at about 1 scoop of ice cream + topping. However, it came out to $2.49 bringing our total to $19.49.

I paid for these items with my new credit card, which will give me a $200 reward after spending $500 within 3 months. 

Also, just eating a moderate amount of food helped us not be in food coma the entire night.

YNAB Budgeting Tool Basic Review

I have reviewed another budgeting tool! YNAB. My Facebook feed has been telling me it is a good tool and I figured it was time to give it a try. Overall, I liked it. Here is my video:


Here is the link: https://youtu.be/80vGtAGgQto

To sign up for YNAB: http://ynab.refr.cc/CHSSFR4

Thanks for watching!

Reviving the Old Blog

It has been almost a year since I've done a post. Much has changed.

In the past 11 months:

• I went from 35 miles to 2.5 miles from work. Now I drive 0 minutes a week for work.
• My ol' faithful car failed smog. We decided to retire it in state retirement. They gave us $1k for him.
• We save $42/month on car insurance due to only having 1 car, and $175/month on gas. We also save about $80/yr on registration.
• I now bike to work. It is glorious. More on this later.
• Wife and I are now debt free! We sold the fifth wheel that we were living in, paid back a personal loan, a hospital bill, and my student debts. It was about $50k in all! 
• The mower given to us wouldn't work (Googling it suggested it was not an easy fix). Dear wife and I bought a reel mower (more details on how this is going coming up).
• We invested in a chest freezer (more on this too)
• I am about to go from saving the company mandatory 8%, to about 35% through retirement contributions and house savings.
• Contributing the above amount to retirement savings will reduce my tax bill about $1600.
• Wife and I are becoming more Tightwad Gazette and Mr Money Mustache oriented.
• Wife is now a crocheting machine!

I am looking to use this blog to record the new things wife and I try, and our journey for becoming satisfied through a simple self sufficient life.